Free parking

Knowing that I'd be at SOM for at least 4 hours for Jury Duty, I looped around for at least 5 minutes before I decided to park illegally at the local McDonalds. As I approached, I saw there was designated motorcycle parking. There was no meter to be seen! It was free! There was one other spot when I got there, so it looks like these spaces are still in high demand. See the Piaggio MP3 tricycle?

This afternoon as I started parking in one of hte downtown motorcycle parking stalls, a meter maid had just arrived. So they do check! Just after I remove my helmet, he checks the other meters and calls out to me,

Hey!

Yeah?

There's 30 minutes in this one - #2!

I'm assuming he's helping me get some free meter time, so I start to put my helmet back on as he waves me over to take the spot. I don't bother with the gloves before I switch spots. Space #2. Meter dude just saved me $0.35. At 78 mpg that's enough for almost 9 miles of riding.